2026 Kia Seltos Makes Global Debut; India Launch On January 2, 2026

The much-awaited second-gen Kia Seltos has made its India debut with a launch set for January 2, 2026. Bookings for the new Seltos open on December 11 with the booking amount set at Rs 25,000. Deliveries will start mid-January. Set to go on sale with petrol, turbo-petrol and diesel engine options in the country, the new Seltos debuts Kia’s latest global design language, previously seen on the EV2 Concept and the second-gen Telluride earlier this year.

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As seen on the Telluride, the Seltos now features new vertical daytime running light guides up front in a split headlamp layout. Large ventricle DRLs sit along the outer edge of the fascia, with the main headlamps positioned more inboard, neatly integrated into the grille. The main headlamp units themselves feature additional daytime running light elements along with LED projector lights. The grille itself is a lot more prominent than the outgoing model and the bumper too is new, though in typical Kia fashion, depending on the Tech Line, GT Line or X-Line model, it features some variant unique elements.

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Moving to the profile, the fenders are more squared out, adding some muscle to the look, while the softer shoulder line and flush-sitting door handles give the SUV a cleaner, more streamlined look. Towards the rear, the prominent haunch should add to the SUV’s road presence, while around the back, the design is quite contemporary with slim L-shaped LED tail lamps, a prominent bumper and a roof-mounted integrated spoiler.

Now underpinned by Kia's K3 platform, the new Seltos is larger than its predecessor, sitting on a 2690 mm wheelbase - 80 mm longer. Similarly, overall vehicle length is up by almost 95 mm to 4460 mm, while width is up by 30 mm to 1830 mm. Height is 10 mm lower at 1635 mm.

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Inside, the dashboard design looks to share elements with the smaller Kia Syros with its layered design, slim air-con vents and minimal physical buttons on the centre stack. Top variants get a panoramic curved display atop the dashboard housing twin 12.3-inch displays for the infotainment and instrument cluster, with a third, smaller 5-inch touchscreen positioned in between the two, housing air-con controls. Physical controls for functions such as the temperature and fan speed, however, are retained on the centre console.

On the tech front, the Seltos packs in some newer features such as a larger 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch touchscreen, a 10-way electric-adjust driver seat with memory function, a head-up display, 64-colour ambient lighting and a relaxation position for the driver seat, though much of the feature list is carried over.

What people, however, are likely to enjoy more is the tech that comes in from the lower variants. Base variants get a 10.25-inch touchscreen with wireless Android Auto & Apple CarPlay, 12-inch digital instrument cluster, cruise control, keyless entry and LED lighting, while features such as ventilated seats, a powered driver seat, keyless go, a panoramic sunroof and front parking sensors get added from the HTK variants. Additionally, the Level 2 ADAS functions are not limited to the GTX variants only with even the top HTX trim now offering automated safety tech.

The Seltos will be offered in four variants - HTE, HTK, HTX & GTX, with the X-Line a styling package for the latter.

Moving to the powertrains, Kia has opted not to stir things up for the Indian market with the familiar 1.5-litre naturally aspirated (NA) petrol, 1.5-litre T-GDI turbo-petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines featuring under the hood. The 1.5 NA petrol will be offered with manual and CVT gearbox options, while the turbo-petrol is paired with either an iMT or DCT unit. The diesel, meanwhile, is offered with either a manual or a torque converter automatic - the previously offered iMT option has been dropped. While Kia had previously mentioned that the Seltos would gain a hybrid powertrain and confirmed hybrid tech for the Indian market, the new Seltos, for now, lacks the option.

The new Seltos will go up against the venerable Hyundai Creta, Honda Elevate, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara & Victoria, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, VW Taigun and Skoda Kushaq in the Indian market.